Improvement in steering-apparatus



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re 5mm attut l PETER H. JACKSON,

OF YORK, N. Y.

Letters Pattet No. 88,170, dated March 23, 1869.

To all whom tt may concern Beit known that I, PETER H. J AcKsoN, of thecity, county, and State of New York, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Steering-Apparatus for Vessels, of which the following isa full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to theaccompanying drawing, forming part of this specification, and in which-Figure 1 represents a partly sectional side elevation First, in a novelarrangement of guide-rod to the nuts, or travelling screw-boxes,relatively to the doublescrew shaft and rudder-head, whereby not onlymay a single guide-rod suce to direct and keep from turning both nuts,but whereby a shorter screw, or main shaft and steeringfapparatus,generally answer to produce a given motion to the rudder, than whe-reseparate guiderods to the nuts, on opposite sides of the screw-shaft,are used, by reason of the arrangement ofthe guide-rod, which is overthe double-screwshaft, admitting of a closer disposition of therudder-head gudgeons to the axis ofthe rudder.

Secondly, the invention consists in a combination of the guide-rod tothe nuts, with vertically-sliding bearings, or boxes to the double-screwshaft, whereby, while the rudder-stock is allowed to rise and fall bythe working of the ship, or by the stern ruiming aground, the whole ismade to partake of the character of a perinanent fixture, combiningincreased strength with freedom from derangement,the guide-rod and screwboth uniting the vertically-sliding'boxes with each other and with thenuts.

Referring to ,the accompanying drawing- A represents the rudder-head, orupper portion of the rudder-stock, carrying oppositely-arranged verticalgudgeons, c (t, which I prefer to lit, or surround with anti-frictionrollers, c c, to render easier the working of the apparatus.

B is the main shaft, having right-and-left screwthreads, (l d, on it,and being turned, or operated by a steering-wheel, C.

This shaft B has its bearings in and end-play restricted by boxes D D,fitted, or connected with the standards E E, in such manner as to becapable of sliding vertically, substantially as described in LettersPatent of the United States, N o. 7 7 ,288, issued to me, April 28,1868, and which provides for the rudderstock rising or falling by theWorking of the ship, or stern running aground, without straining orthrowing friction on the screw, and keeping the latter in its properposition for working on the rudder.

F F are the nut-s, or screw-boxes, arranged to tit the screw-threads dd, and provided with arms, c e, which have slots, f f, in them, withinwhich the gudgcon-rollers c c play.

These nuts F F are directed and prevented from turning by a singleguide-rod, G, arranged to lie parallel with and directly over thedouble-screw, or steering-shaft B.

By this disposition of the guide-rod G, not only does the one rod serveto guide both nuts F F, but such freedom of space is established onopposite sides ofthe shaft B, as that I am enabled to place the gudgeonsa a unich closer to the axial line of the rudder-stock than whereseparate side-guide rods tothe two nuts are used, thereby diminishingthe length of the screw and steeriiig-apparatus generally, fora givenstroke of rudder, which is a very important consideration, especially inthe application of a screw steering-apparatusto a schooner or othersmall vessel, on account of the restricted distance there is between therudder-stock and rail of the vessel.

Either nut F, it will be seen, passes the arm e of the adjacent nut, andin putting the rudder hard up or down, by turning the wheel Q in reversedirections, the gudgeons ct et may, by this arrangement, be workedalmost close up to the double screw, or steering-shaft B.

Furthermore, this single guide-rod Gis made to connect bothvertical-sliding boxes D D, that are thus tied, and the nuts F F, withtheir slotted arms e e, carried by the screw and rod, thereby impartinggreat strength and stability to such working-devices, both in theirgeneral operation, and when rising and falling with'the rudder-head,thus giving a permanency, or oneness of character, to the combination,and dispensing with objectionable joints.

What is here claimed, and desired to be secured by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination, with the steering-screw shaft B and nuts FV F, ofthe guide-rod G, arranged over said screw-shaft, and serving' Ato guideboth nuts, or screw-boxes, and prevent then from` turning, substantiallyas specified.l

2. The combination of the guide-rod G and vertically-slidimz` boxes D D,with the screw-shaft B and nuts F F, essentially as shown and described.

PETER H. JACKSON. Witnesses:

HENRY T. BROWN, FRED. HAYNES.

